Southaven's pink garbage cans to help curb cancer

City hopes initiative will raise funds for research

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis shows a sample of a new pink trash container Wednesday to Sibonie Jones-Swatzyna (left) and Jo Ann Force at City Hall. The city has ordered about 500 of the bins.

To pre-order a pink can, residents can drop off $5 in cash or check, payable to the City of Southaven, at the city's utility offices on Pepperchase Drive or at City Hall. Residents can also send a separate $5 check with their water bill.

For more information, call the city hall at (662) 280-2489.

What's pink and holds 96 gallons? The new city garbage cans in Southaven.

For $5, residents can buy the huge pink garbage cans, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.

Cascade Engineering, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company that supplies the cans to Southaven, started its "Kick Cancer to the Curb" initiative with the pink cans earlier this month.

Their goal is to sell 100,000 cans to raise $500,000 to support programs to fight breast cancer that claims the lives of more than 40,000 women each year.

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis said the city plans to replace all 200 garbage cans used at all city facilities with the pink trash cans. The $1,000 cost will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

"I think everyone has personally been touched with a family member or a friend that has had to fight cancer," Davis said.

Alderman Lorine Cady said she wants to be one of the first residents to get her pink can.

Cady lost both her husband to colon cancer and her sister to liver cancer a little over a year ago.

"Anything that I can do to raise awareness about cancer I will do it," Cady said.